


Under the Stars

by reina_connected



Category: Powerpuff Girls
Genre: Coming of Age, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Love Confessions, M/M, Mentions of Sex, One Shot, Senior Week, Teens being teens, This was supposed to be shorter, Underage Drinking, prompt, under the stars, worry about the future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:20:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25541977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reina_connected/pseuds/reina_connected
Summary: ::Part of the "Things you said under the stars." prompt::Senior week shenanigans and maybe a confession or two. Bubbles has been quieter than usual lately, but she can probably crush down her feelings until they wither and die, right?
Relationships: Boomer/Buttercup Utonium, Brick/Blossom Utonium, Butch/Bubbles Utonium, Mike Believe/Mitch, Princess Morbucks/Robin Snyder
Comments: 1
Kudos: 37
Collections: PPG Challenge Hub





	Under the Stars

Standing in the doorway, Bubbles gave a sigh, one hand on her cheek. Buttercup had gotten Blossom riled up again and it was only day three of their senior week vacation.

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Buttercup huffed, her arms crossed and hip cocked. Anyone who knew Buttercup knew that she was standing in a ‘locked’ stance, which meant she wasn’t budging on her plan.

“Because you two have only been dating for five months!” Blossom hissed from the middle of the two beds. Rolling her eyes she finished up her long braid, tying the end with a simple white ribbon. “I _thought_ you were going to take it slow.”

Giving a snort, Buttercup quipped back, “oh please, not all of us take a year to kiss our boyfriends and besides,” an eyebrow raise and the lift of her lips in a ‘gotcha’ expression made itself at home on her face, “I don’t think you were taking it slow last night.”

Flushed, Blossom straightened, “and what do you mean by that?”

“It means,” Buttercup leaned forward on the balls of her feet, “that I saw you sneak out last night and then crawl back into bed this morning.”

“I- that’s completely different.” Blossom was still flushed, her fists planted on her hips, “Brick and I have been dating for two years and it’s not like we were… _doing_ it.”

Bubbles piped up, not even thinking about what she was saying, “I don’t know, Blossy. Brick suuuure looked happy this morning.”

“Well of course he’s happy but-!”

“Stay out of it, Bubbles,” Buttercup had turned her back on the blonde and continued going toe-to-toe with her flustered leader. “If you get to sleep with your boyfriend then I should get to sleep with mine,” she emphasized this by sticking out her tongue and blowing a raspberry.

“C’mon, guys, why don’t we-,“ Bubbles walked towards them with her hands up but they both snapped at her.

“Not now, Bubbles!”

Throwing her hands into the air, Bubbles just huffed, “fine! You two figure it out then.” Turning she walked out of the room and shut the door behind her. Standing in the hallway of the beach condo they were staying at she waited for a moment, her back against the door. _How were they still arguing about this?_

Pushing herself off the door she wandered back down the hall and traipsed down the steps. She could hear a commotion coming from the kitchen, their friends probably playing some sort of drinking game by now.

Walking through the foyer she turned and entered the combination of the open plan kitchen and living room. Looking defeated on one side of the long table, Mitch was grumbling into his beer while Mike tried to coo encouragingly, “next time we’ll kick their asses, babe.”

The victors were quite clear; Robin had her legs wrapped around Princess’s waist as she held up a half empty red solo cup and peppered kisses onto the freckled cheeks of the former enemy of the Powerpuff Girls. Princess punched one arm into the air, her other arm wrapped around her girlfriend’s waist. “Take that, bitches!”

Sitting on one of the couches and watching the spectacle were Boomer and Brick, laughing as they drank their own drinks. Coming up behind them, Bubbles leaned over the back of the couch and rested her head on her one hand as the other pinched Boomer’s cheek. “It doesn’t look good for you, Romeo,” she chirped.

Swatting her hand away, Boomer gave Bubbles a puppy dog pout, “aw, c’mon! I even left the room last night so Blossom could sneak in…”

Spitting out his drink Brick looked over, “wait, I thought you just passed out on the couch?” He was met with two skeptical expressions.

Boomer rolled his eyes, “yeah, I ‘ _passed out’_ on the couch with Butch for fun last night.” Bubbles giggled at the face Brick was making but Boomer continued, “dude, we know you guys fuu-,“ Bubbles clapped a hand on Boomer’s mouth.

“Just ignore him,” Bubbles quickly interjected. “But you and Blossy need to relax, we’re all big kids and know how to be safe.”

Brick narrowed his eyes in concentration at her, “how do you know about being ‘safe’, Bubbles? I know I didn’t sit you down to talk about the birds and bees.”

Before she could reply, Butch popped a can into her hand and then clapped her on the shoulder, “didn’t you know? Sugartits banged the whole football team before graduation.” He gave her a sly wink and she rolled her eyes at him, giving him a forceful hip check.

“You’re so gross,” she laughed at Butch, having been used to his humor for some time now. Boomer pointed at Butch and pointedly said, “we all know you were the school slut, dude.”

“ _Me_?” Butch feigned hurt, “I am saving my _precious flower_ for someone truly worthy.”

His brothers just rolled their eyes and Brick threw his now empty cup at Butch’s head. “You are the worst.”

Butch let it go but Bubbles scooted after to pick it up and toss it into the trash muttering, “men…”

“So where are the wifeys? Red can’t still be brushing her hair,” he took a swig of his own drink, eyeing up both of his brothers.

Boomer sighed dejectedly, “Bloss is losing her shit at Butters right now.”

“She isn’t losing her shit,” Brick defended, but his face wasn’t 100% in his statement.

The expressions from the others said it all, but before Brick could say anything else Robin came bouncing over. “Who else is ready to lose?” Bubbles laughed at her and quickly tucked in an inside out pocket on Robin’s romper. “Moooooom, I’m fiiiiiine.” Robin drawled out, shooing away her hand.

Bubbles took another sip of her drink and took away Robin’s cup, “water break for you,” she sang out. She floated and zipped out of Robin’s reach, landing back in the kitchen next to Princess who was making herself a vodka cranberry. “Your girlfriend is on a water only break for the next game.”

Princess just pouted and scowled at Bubbles, but then looked back at Robin and her features softened. “Yeah, probably the next two games, she really can’t hold her own when it comes to alcohol.”

Pulling out a water bottle from the fridge, Bubbles nodded, “yeah but her cuteness makes up for it, right?”

Princess was oddly quiet, so when Bubbles turned to look at her, she was almost surprised to see the soft look on the girl’s freckled face, a soft blush over her cheeks. Suddenly her hands clapped her cheeks and Princess gushed, “she’s just so, so, so cute. Ugh!”

They were in the “newlywed” stage of their relationship, only a month old, but somehow Bubbles had a feeling that it wasn’t going to fade away any time soon. Robin had been so proud of herself when she had made the first move on the redhead, but Robin was rather bold so that never came as much of a surprise to her friends.

“I’ll take it to her,” Princess reached for the water bottle which Bubbles had no issue at all with, easily handing it over. She watched Princess bring it to a pouty Robin who managed a grateful smile to both Princess and Bubbles. Sometimes Robin needed to be reminded of her limits and that wasn’t a bad thing.

Standing up, Boomer dragged Brick up by his arm, his ‘big brother’ jerked it away and scowled. “So who thinks they can take us on then?” Boomer called to the group.

Mike raised his hand from the kitchen table, “I need to reclaim my honor!” Mitch just sat on one of the kitchen barstools but before he could get up or claim his place, Princess gave a jump, “I’m nowhere near done, Believe!”

She joined him at one end of the long table and they high fived, Mitch crossed his arms, “what’s with stealing my partner, Morbucks?”

Princess just tossed her rich auburn curls over one shoulder and sarcastically remarked, “Mike just wants to be on a winning team, Mitchelson, stop trying to spoil his fun.”

Amused, Mitch just shook his fist at her, “why I oughta…” Princess stuck her tongue out at him with both hands on her hips in ‘retaliation’.

Robin was halfway done her water bottle as she took a seat next to Mitch on one of the bar stools, Bubbles and Princess exchanged a quick glance which was immediately followed by Bubbles grabbing another water bottle from the fridge and pushing a bowl of pretzels in front of Robin.

“Thanks, mom,” Robin grinned as she popped one of the pretzels in her mouth before turning back to the side, “kick their butts, baby!”

Brick cracked open a can of beer and finished realigning the cups in the pyramid pattern. Boomer finished up his previous drink and looked at Butch, “dude, can you-.”

“Nope.”

“You don’t even know what I was gonna ask,” Boomer said in exasperation.

“You were gonna ask me to make you some fancy ass mix drink.”

“Well…” Boomer shrugged, “I don’t know how to make a margarita and you do.”

“Guess it’s time to learn, bitch.” Butch motioned and Boomer followed him, only pouting slightly. He was getting his damn margarita either way.

Shaking her head, Bubbles stood next to Brick who gave her an intense stare. She arched her eyebrows at him, “what?”

“Nothing, you’ve been quieter than usual.” Taking a sip from his beer, she followed suit in order to avoid answering questions he might come up with.

He’d become her protective older brother in the last few years, which had definitely softened Blossom towards him before their relationship had started. It was almost comical at how their relationships had morphed so much. It was true that they really did need one another, balancing one another’s faults and pushing their strengths. It had been unexpected, but it felt _right_.

Finishing her drink as Boomer rejoined with a massive margarita in a bright red cup, Bubbles announced, “I’m gonna check on the girls.”

“Hurry back to witness the destruction of the Ruffs!” Princess sang out, Mike laughing as he took aim with the ping pong ball, ready to sink his first shot.

Bubbles laughed as she tossed her can into the trash before climbing up the steps, it really was a beautiful condo. Princess hadn’t allowed anyone to pay for them to stay but they had all insisted on buying the groceries and covering other costs… like alcohol. Not a penny was wasted.

Walking softly down the hallway, Bubbles crouched beside the door of the room she and her sisters were sharing, crouching down to eavesdrop (they had stopped yelling and her super hearing was just picking up low murmurs), Bubbles listened to the tones of their voices. She knew better than to go full on and hear them word for word, but recognizing there was no more hostility or indignation in the air she was satisfied. Before she could decide whether to knock or just slip back downstairs, she was interrupted by a looming figure.

“You don’t have to babysit them, ya know,” Butch’s voice was low in her ear and Bubbles practically jumped out of her skin, her head smacking him in the nose.

Pulling back with his hands on his nose, Butch stood up and checked his hands for any blood. Bubbles stood indignantly and hissed at him, “well what did you expect?” Grabbing his bicep she ushered him down the hall towards one of the bathroom and flicked the light on.

“You’re not bleeding, are you?” She worked to pull his hands away from his nose, he still kept checking his fingers in the light.

Smirking he quipped, “why? You gonna kiss it better for me?” His voice was still low and Bubbles flushed slightly as she grabbed his face and pulled him down a bit to take a look at his face.

Butch was being obedient; his green eyes were teasing as she looked his face over carefully. That hadn’t been his goal but he’d take it nonetheless.

Making a sour face she remarked, “has your nose always been this crooked?”

Screwing up his brows Butch gave one of his crooked grins and pushed her hands away, “liar, I’ve always been perfect.” But that still didn’t stop him from glancing at the mirror on the wall, ensuring him that his nose was indeed still straight as an arrow. Bubbles noticed this and had a small victorious smile on her lips as she crossed her arms.

Shaking her head she began to turn around but Butch reached out and grabbed her wrist, “I was serious though, your sisters will figure it out.”

Surprised, Bubbles turned and looked at Butch who looked… softer than usual. She realized he was trying to reassure her and she gave a tilt of her head with one brow raised, “uh-huh.” She flicked the light off and peeked around the door, no sign of her sisters leaving the room was spotted so she stepped out into the hall.

“I thought you’d be trying to mess with your brothers and ensuring they wouldn’t win, why are you up here stalking me?” Bubbles tried to be nonchalant about her comment but Butch just gave her a shrug.

“You’re more interesting I guess.”

Bubbles froze in the hall, Butch stopping right behind her. He was _so_ close. Her arms crossed protectively over her chest and she licked her lips, she _knew_ this was going to come up, something was going to come up. 

“Wanna get some fresh air?” He was quiet, he kept his hands to himself and there was nothing stopping her when she said, “yes.”

Turning around to face him she was surprised to see him opening one of the bedroom doors, “Butch, that’s not-,” but he rolled his eyes and motioned her in with his head. She followed and shut the door quietly behind her, surprised to see him opening the doors out onto the small balcony.

The home had Italian-Villa vibes and so most of the rooms had small balconies attached. Stepping gingerly across the room she hissed again, “Butch, we don’t have shoes on.”

Turning back to look at her he rolled his eyes, “don’t forget that we can fly, Sugartits. You won’t even need your shoes.” And then he did that stupid thing that always made her nervous; standing on the iron rail he tipped right over as if he were pushed, and then floated back up as if it were nothing.

Well, more or less it was nothing, but still! It was the principle of it! Bubbles just let her body lift up and out into the sky, the rush of ocean air hit her face and smell of salt and summer. Summer had a very distinct smell; it was ocean spray and sunscreen, it was the far away remnants of a BBQ or firepit and the crisp taste of freedom that came with longer days. It was melted ice cream and rocket pops, and the winking of fireflies in the night.

Once he was sure that Bubbles was out of the house, he jerked his head slightly and zipped over the pool outside, the dark firepit, and past the steep steps that opened up to the sandy beach. She looked over at the patio where the light from the kitchen was illuminating parts of it, occasionally catching a loud whoop or a cry of disappointment. Knowing everyone was well distracted she took off, not trying to be left behind.

Butch let his feet hit the soft sand, the coolness enveloping his skin as a foot sank deeper. Catching himself he straightened but turned just in time to watch Bubbles run a few strides from her landing, the shifting sand an unfamiliar landing pad.

He caught up to her as she was pushing some of those loose hairs out of her face. He’d never understand the “perfectly undone but done” look that Bubbles insisted on. He came up and tweaked both of the buns on the top of her head.

“Hey,” she spun and swatted his hands away, “you’re gonna mess up my hair.”

He snorted, “wow, didn’t know I was hanging with Blossom.” Playfully Bubbles shoved him, but she was laughing.

“I’m surprised you’re not claiming your crown from everyone in there,” Bubbles remarked.

“I have the rest of the week to whoop their asses, I’ll let them have tonight.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his gray shorts, kicking up some sand as he walked right on past her. “You ever try to walk on water?”

She scoffed at him, “what are you, Jesus or something?” Her hands were laced behind her back as she walked beside him.

“Actually, I prefer my followers to call out to me, ‘oh my god, oh my god,’ over and over.”

Rolling her eyes Bubbles saw that gleam in his eye; was it the crooked smile or that mischievous gleam that was his signature? Either way, Butch was Butch, and the way he had melded into her life was comforting.

He gestured with his head, “c’mon, just do it so your feet aren’t dipping under the water.”

“So not _really_ walking, just floating?” She chided.

Taking her wrist Butch pulled her over to the surf, “don’t be such a buzzkill.” Bubbles hesitated just slightly, she wasn’t sure why this idea had never occurred to her before but it did sound like something she’d like to do. Plus her powers weren’t temporary or anything, there was nothing stopping her from doing it.

“Just try to remember where you put your feet, we’ll go out to the platform,” He released her and pointed to the floating platform that they’d all been playing on earlier that day. Sunbathing, jumping into the ocean, taking a breather after swimming nonstop.

“Lead the way,” she sang, and watched him “step” onto the with a grace he didn’t exhibit in his day to day movements. When Butch moved it was quick, purposeful, abrupt; but he was walking as smoothly as a cat would walk across a fencepost.

Floating above the water until she was a bit off the shore she allowed herself to “land” on the rippling surface, the bubbles of the waves were tickling the bottoms of her feet and she felt the worry of having to mediate everything melt off her shoulders.

A broad grin spread across her lips as she watched where she was going, careful not to teeter, as she didn’t want to break from the illusion. The waters were black, inky, and she couldn’t see anything beneath the waves that rolled beneath her and lapped at the shore.

“Am I brilliant, or am I brilliant, sugartits?” she looked up and noticed Butch’s smug expression.

Not wanting him to think he’d won or anything she tried to nonchalantly pass it off, “I guess it’s kind of cool.” But she could feel the heat of his eyes on her face while she tried to suppress a grin. Needless to say, it didn’t work. When he took a step towards her she jumped to the side and broke the surface of the water by kicking it at him.

“Damn, I hope you’re ready to run, no flying or I’ll be sure to dunk you,” It was an almost difficult process, the conscious mind wanted to just fly and dart around, but the feeling of the water rippling under her feet was such a fun sensation she wanted to continue the illusion that she was actually running on top of it.

Dodging a hand, Bubbles dipped beneath Butch’s arm, careful to move fairly close so he’d have to overcompensate in trying to catch her. He had definitely had more practice though and when he pivoted he slid his foot across the water, sending up a salty spray to the side.

The continued this back and forth for a few minutes. It was fun, almost like the sparring that Bubbles had witnessed him and Buttercup engage in. It felt like a dance, but as the thought flew across her mind she froze up for a second too long and his hand pulled at one of the long strands of hair hanging down by her face. He knew it was an irritating thing to her, not so much a mean thing, not anymore. But her lack of reaction had him pull up and stop. Before he could question it she just stuck her tongue out at him.

“You’ve had more practice at this than I have.” She spun slightly, floating over to the platform and plopped down on it, her legs and the hem of her dress were soaked but she _had_ had fun.

Moving to lie on her back she stared up at the moon, the stars scattering behind it. They were lucky that it was dark enough to see everything as it was, and she wished she knew the names of the constellations she was staring up at.

Butch plopped down on the platform next to her, the bottom of his shorts were soaked and he wrung them out. He’d seen her freeze and had noticed she wasn’t as chatty as usual lately, normally she projected her thoughts without any trouble at all but lately he felt like he was navigating her thoughts with a flickering flashlight through a thick fog. Years of knowing the girls had taught him how to approach them when it came to things they wanted to avoid but this was new.

Buttercup had to be physically exhausted, enough so that she dropped her guard to actually say something. He knew she was different with Boomer and her sisters, but that’s how he’d always gotten her to talk when she was bottling things in. Blossom needed to feel like she was the one in total control, as if it was all her idea to bring it up, which was just as difficult as it sounded. But Bubbles, he’d never run into this with her, the silence on her end left him… worried.

Nudging her hip with his toes he pried, “what’s going on in that brain of yours?”

“Hm? Just wondering what some of those constellations are called, I bet Brick would know.” Her eyes didn’t leave the sky above them, a smug grin on her face.

She couldn’t see him but she could practically _feel_ Butch roll his eyes, “that douchecanoe doesn’t know _everything_.”

Giggling slightly she raised her hands in front of her and stared at the backs of her hands, the stars outlining each finger. She’d been in space before, sure, but as much as she dreamed of touching the stars she knew it wasn’t like all that. Billions of miles away, you know.

They sat in that silence for a bit; the lapping of the water against the wooden platform was lulling, the sound of the waves crashing onto the white sandy beaches, and the faint laughter in the background of their friends was all that could be heard. In most cases this would be the perfect summer evening.

“You gonna sit there in silence all night or are you gonna actually talk to me?” His voice shocked Bubbles out of her own thoughts and she brought her arms down, gently lacing her fingers together.

“You’re always bugging me to keep my mouth shut, Butch,” she turned her head towards him and lifted an eyebrow, “do you miss my voice that much?”

She started to laugh but he blurted, “yes,” and the silence ran between them again.

Scooting over he laid back on the platform beside her, Bubbles was chewing on the inside of her cheek when he looked over at her. “What’s up, blondie?”

A small sigh, “I just-,” she wasn’t sure if she should continue but kept her eyes locked on those stars above them, “everyone is leaving.”

Confused, Butch started, “that’s not true, we’ll all be at Townsville U. together. Well, most of us anyways.” Princess was studying abroad, and Robin and Mike were attending a college three hours away. The rest of them though, they’d be at the local college.

Pouting, Bubbles grumbled, “not for long.”

“What do you mean?”

Looking at Butch, Bubbles held her arms tightly across her abdomen, her fingers now gripping the skin around her elbows, she felt like crying.

“Blossy, Buttercup, and me have to go there for _at least_ a whole year while they interview new heroes to take our place, Brick is only going because Blossy has to stay, Boomer is going ‘cause he got that scholarship but he wants to go finish up on the east coast, and you’re only going because of the sports scholarship and I know you only accepted that one ‘cause everyone else is staying home!”

It took a moment for her to register the hot tears running down her face, embarrassed she rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hands. “You won’t be happy here,” she blubbered to Butch, inhaling sharply as she tried to calm herself.

She was sitting up, wiping away the last of her tears when Butch reached out with one warn hand and wrapped it around her wrist, “C’mere.” Bubbles didn’t resist when he pulled her back down and forced her closely into his body, he’d released her arm when she hadn’t resisted and had her wrapped in his own in a comforting hug.

“Don’t be so dumb,” he mumbled, but he could feel the trembling of her bottom lip against his shoulder and quickly followed up with, “why is it so bad if we all stay together for a bit? There will be other scholarships, better offers with time. We all get to work on our core classes and be miserable college kids together. Plus, you know none of us Rowdys would stay if we really didn’t want to.”

This was true. The boys had been nomads most of their elementary school life and only really joined them in middle school, they’d resisted HIM and Mojo’s insistence that they needed a true education for as long as possible before coming back to Townsville.

“I wouldn’t stay if I didn’t want to.” He said this was such gumption that Bubbles looked up at him but he was staring into the night sky.

“It’s just that you had so many offers, and you took the one that’s struggling, I thought for sure you were going to end up in Ohio or Alabama… I was ready for you to go there.”

Butch gave a snort and that smug look made it’s way onto his face, “it just means I’ll be 10x more valuable after a year in Townsville when they can see what I can do with a tier 2 school.” Now that sounded more like the Butch she knew.

Still not ready to relent into his positive outlook, Bubbles muttered, “but Blossy and Brick really wanted to accept those offers to MIT, I know they’ll still be there in a year or two if they apply again but it hurt s _o_ much to see her cry when she had to decline, a-and I was _happy_ to be with my sister for at least another year and I know that’s selfish but I don’t want to see her give up her dream just to _stay_.”

“That doesn’t make you selfish,” he glanced at Bubbles but her eyes were still watery and looking away from him. “we were all created as a perfect set of 3, and none of us have been away from each other for long.” He paused, swallowed, “it’s different, and _maaaaaaaybe_ a little scary.”

When he went to glance back at her this time he was surprised to see her eyes locked on him. Right now Bubbles was using his words as a lifeline, as reassurance that what she was feeling wasn’t entirely wrong.

“But don’t you dare repeat that,” Butch gruffly said, “I’ve got a fuckin’ reputation.”

“I don’t think anyone would believe me even if I did,” her voice was small, but she tried to push some life back into it.

Seeing an opening to possibly get her to laugh he quickly justified, “and now we all have time to change our majors if we really, really hate them.” The low rumble of his laugh vibrated through his chest and Bubbles miserably failed at fighting a small smile.

“I guess…” she was so quiet against the night that Butch wasn’t sure he’d heard her fully.

Shifting his arm he moved so her head was resting on his deltoid, Butch gripped her with both hands, one above her left elbow from the back and the other on the front around her wrist. There was something still underlying, he had a hunch but wasn’t sure if he should say anything just yet though. For now, lying in the silence of the evening was enough. She wasn’t crying anymore, and she wasn’t tense or resisting his touch.

He had found himself unable to stop touching her the last 8 months; but Bubbles, the forever friendly and joyous one had welcomed his little brushes of the hand, the way he threw a leg over hers during movie nights, or pressed his knee against her own at group outings to the diner.

“Butch?”

“Mmhmm?”

“Back in middle school would you have ever guessed that we would all be so close?”

“Well,” he started, “I certainly didn’t see Butters and Boom dating… or boss and Red. But back in middle school I couldn’t stand to even be around you girls.”

Feeling her stiffen he exhaled a laugh, “not anymore, _obviously_ , but you gotta see it from our point of view.” Finding the right words was never easy, “you three were everything we weren’t; heroes, admired, trusted, _loved_.”

A small shift of her head was made, Bubbles could understand that. They’d been particularly harsh until they were all around 12-13 years old. Always suspicious, never letting the boys out of their sights, still brawling on the blacktop from time to time. None of them had liked each other very much.

“Besides, I think you three could’ve gotten away with murder if you really wanted to,” Butch’s voice was light and teasing but that didn’t stop Bubbles from trying to prop herself up slightly and shooting him a scowl. Rolling his eyes he applied enough force to get her to relent and go back down, “I know, I know, you’re all too _boring_ to be that cool. Deadpool makes you three look like you’re trying out for the role of Mother Theresa.”

Butch always cracked himself up, and the laugh he exuded shook his chest and broke through the quiet night. She liked the way he laughed with his whole face; eyes closed and a wide grin that always showed his teeth. Blossom was more demure in her laughter, and Buttercup and Brick always smirked and tried not to laugh as hard as Butch or she and Boomer did, but they’d been worn down before.

Freeing up an arm, Butch pointed at a cluster of stars, “that up there is Lyra.”

Pausing, Bubbles didn’t take her eyes off the constellation, “I didn’t know you knew about stars.”

She could feel the halfhearted shrug, “what can I say, it’s a panty dropper, bitches love stars.”

“Ugh,” she pushed against Butch who cackled at his own crass joke, “you’re the worst.” Bubbles was smiling, she could feel the tightness of her skin where her earlier tears had dried and for something that had occurred only 20 or so minutes ago it felt like a lifetime.

Butch had his wicked crooked grin on his face, “that’s not what you said at afterprom.”

Stiffening, Bubbles nervously laughed, “I didn’t say anything.”

Butch attempted to catch her gaze but she was avoiding him. Coyly he turned his body to the side, “really? I distinctly remember you saying something about admiring my ability to be myself and-,” she whipped her hands up and covered his mouth.

Panicked she shushed him, “no, no, no, shhhhhh, you didn’t hear anything.”

“Mmphh,” Butch narrowed his eyes and stuck out his tongue, Bubbles yelped and pulled them away to wipe them off on her abdomen.

“As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted,” he cast an accusatory look at Bubbles and burst out laughing when he noticed how bright red her face was. Quickly she covered her face with her hands and started to roll away to get away from him but Butch was far from being done. With swift agility, Butch rolled up off of his outside elbow and trapped her between his knees.

“Butch, noooo, stop!” Bubbles whined, she could feel his hands resting on her forearms and his weight hovering above her.

“You need to look at me first, sugartits,” he sang, he wasn’t gripping her and in truth they both knew he wouldn’t stop her from wiggling out if she really wanted too. Last thing he needed was her kicking his ass; or worse, Buttercup and Brick ganging up on him.

Peeking between the crack of her fingers she could make out his grin and she mumbled behind her hands, “you were sleeping, you didn’t hear anything!” Pleading for deniability on this, only Robin knew, which was exactly how she had meant to keep it.

“You just think you heard me say something because you like the sound of my voice so much,” she tried to turn this on him, he’d said as much earlier.

“I do, but I heard what I heard.” He gave another teasing tug on one of those long and loose hairs by her face, then pivoted off of his knee to sit beside her.

Her eyes followed him as he sat next to her, “you’re so mean.” She was pouting behind her hands, “your smugness is so annoying.”

Laughing, Butch drew up one of his knees and leaned his arm onto it, “if I was so mean you wouldn’t have said what you said.”

Now balling her fists up, Bubbles sat up and turned towards him as she shot a glare in his direction, “you were asleep!”

“I was supposed to be a villain too but here I am,” the twinkle in his eye was distracting her from being 100% mad at him and that frustrated her more.

Crossing her arms across her chest Bubbles said, “you are a scoundrel, Butch Jojo.”

Shrugging shamelessly he replied, “what can I say? I liked hearing you say it.”

This made her freeze; her arms became less tense and her hands slid down the length of her arms. In a small voice she tested the water, “you _liked_ it?” 

He wasn’t looking at her anymore, instead his eyes were back out over the blackness of the ocean and the trails of stars across the sky. “I like _you_.” He seemed to be just as embarrassed as she had been prior, and from years of knowing one another Bubbles recognized it was hard for Butch to be that open about his feelings. He was like Buttercup in that sense, always had to be the toughest in the room.

“Oh.”

The word hung in the air, and all Bubbles could feel was the heat rising in her chest and up to her face. When she’d “confessed” weeks ago and to Robin she figured it would never go further than that. She would crush those feelings down, find a nice boy or girl to kiss at someone’s graduation party this summer, and move on with her life. Even though they were polar opposites she hadn’t been able to resist that magnetic pull to Butch, the way he made her laugh and could take a serious situation and be real and honest with her… the way he wasn’t afraid to push her.

“Is that all you’re gonna say?” Looking at his profile Bubbles wasn’t sure what she was going to say. What could you say when your crush admitted to _liking_ you _back_? Part of her was still processing it while the other wanted to wrap her arms around him and hear him laugh and say it again.

Somehow, she landed right in the middle.

Leaning forward she rocked from her crisscross position and onto her knees, her hand gravitated to his cheek and she turned his face towards her. Even though it felt like forever she was so swift in her movements and felt no resistance in Butch as she drew him close to plant a soft and gentle kiss on his lips.

As Bubbles started to withdraw she felt a grin crack across his mouth as his own hands found the back of her head and her waist. Now there was a more intense heat, she could taste the salt of the ocean breeze on his lips and her hand slipped into his dark messy hair. With no effort Butch pulled her into his lap, one hand ran down her back while the other her arm, the little shiver that followed only encouraged him to deepen the kiss again.

He liked the way she peppered some soft kisses in-between the deeper ones, he’d always known of her more ‘wild’ side, but actually experiencing it was a whole other entity of it’s own. The way she lifted his chin and glided her fingertips across his jawline, the satisfied and coy grin on her lips, and when she stopped him from going after her neck by firmly grabbing the back of his hair and teasing him with her own light kisses on his neck was _heaven_.

But, at the same time he knew they’d take this slow, or as slow as two Chemical X powered teens with raging hormones could at least.

It was funny, that after more time spent kissing that all they wanted to do now was lie on the wooden platform beside one another, but he still had her wrapped up in his arms and she was tracing his features with her fingertips.

“What are you doing?” His voice was gruff but Bubbles just smiled.

“Making sure it’s really you.”

Laughing, Butch joked, “there might be a lot of imitators out there, but nothing comes close to me, I’m the real deal, Sugartits.”

“You’re mine,” and the way she said it caught him off guard, he could feel himself flushing, her laugh only confirmed that he looked as taken aback as he felt and he buried his face in her neck.

“Shut up.” He loved the sound of her voice, the lightness of her laughter was so much better and he’d known there had been something missing from her earlier in the night. “Was that really so hard to say?” Butch was curious why she said it with so much more ease now when she’d been so resistant before.

Running her fingers through his hair she said, “well, you were never supposed to know, and I never would have dreamed that you liked me, so…” Butch picked up his head to give her an exasperated look but she just pushed his cheeks so his lips were puckered, “aww you look so cute.”

“Brat,” he sputtered through his squished cheeks.

“You wish,” referring to her wilder other dimension self, the girl who knew how to be sexy and sultry and make boys drool all over her. Truth be told, she rather liked the girl.

The two teens were suddenly interrupted, “Bubbles! Where are you!?” Both Butch and Bubbles whipped their heads back to the beach to see Blossom standing on the patio of the house, Robin and Buttercup at her sides.

Perking up, Bubbles said, “they must’ve worked it out.” Butch rolled his eyes and leaned in to kiss her clavicle and neck, making her giggle.

Next to ring out was Buttercup’s voice, “I can hear you! Come out!”

Pulling Butch’s head back, she whispered, “we should go back inside.”

“Screw them, I’m fine right here,” his breath was hot when he put his lips back to her skin.

“Are you-?!” A bright green streak dashed down from the patio and to the beach, Bubbles could see the glow of her sister’s eyes and she tried pulling away from Butch and was trying not to laugh at his stubbornness when Buttercup’s voice rang out, “are you groping my sister?!”

“Oh no…” Bubbles muttered, she saw a quick pink dash run to Buttercup’s side and grab her, Robin made an excited sound and ran back into the house.

It was almost comical while Buttercup waved her fist in the air, “you sonofabitch! Fight me like a man! I’m gonna kick your ass!”

Moving her forehead to press against Butch’s she whispered, “we better go back in.”

“I don’t know… this is pretty entertaining.”

Leaning back she crossed her arms, “she’s going to wake up the whole neighborhood.”

Floating up into a standing position Butch released Bubbles to float above the platform, “fine, I _guess_ you’re right.” Turning back towards the shore he shouted back, “she likes being groped by me, you buzzkill!”

Smacking his arm Bubbles just shook her head, “you really are the worst.” Butch grinned and gave her a quick peck on her temple.

“And yet you still like me, I wonder what that says about you.”

Grabbing his wrist Bubbles pulled Butch across the water and back to the shore, skimming over the water she was relishing the ocean mist on the bottoms of her feet and around her ankles. As they approached the shore and began to land Bubbles noted the none too amused expression on Blossom’s face while Buttercup hurled several more insults at Butch.

Landing, Bubbles put on a friendly grin, “so you two made up? That’s great-,” but Blossom interrupted her before she could continue.

“Bubbles, take Buttercup inside and get her a beer, please.” Buttercup froze and gave Blossom an incredulous look, but Bubbles only glanced at Butch before grabbing Buttercup’s hand and pulling her up the steps.

As they departed Butch caught Butter’s muttering at Bubbles, “you have a lot of explaining to do.” And suddenly he was envious and would rather be dealing with her than with Blossom. He noted that the nervous smile was still on Bubbles’ face while she was talking her sister down from the threats she had made prior and… something about him being a ‘ _perfect gentleman’_? Now she was just pushing their luck.

Suddenly Butch was almost wishing that Brick had maybe come out instead of the sisters, but with the way Brick always treated Bubbles like his sweet baby sister… honestly was there anyone he would like to be interrogated by right now? This silence was going on too long, he’d already heard Robin squeal again when the door was opened but Blossom still hadn’t said anything.

With those intense pink eyes on him Butch felt a little uncomfortable but held up his hands, “listen, Red, I’m not going to-,” but Blossom interrupted him before he could finish.

“Just don’t be a fucking dumbass.” She turned on her heel and started to walk across the sand and back up the steps.

“Wait,” slightly flabbergasted, Butch ran to catch up to her, “did you just say a curse word?”

With a roll of her eyes, Blossom tossed her long braid off of her shoulder, “trust me, if I have to say one again it’s going to be because you hurt my sister, so don’t think I’m going to say it just to amuse you.”

Looking at her with apprehension, Butch questioned, “what about my normal, day-to-day dumbassery?”

His snide remark made Blossom give him a smug look, “I’m not asking for a miracle, Butch,” she punctuated that sentence by raising her eyebrows at him and he laughed.

“Fair, I walked into that one,” they touched out onto the patio and Brick threw the door open, startling both Blossom and Butch.

“You motherfucker!”

“Language!” Blossom followed up with her “catchphrase” when it came to this group as she walked over to Brick and gave him a peck on the lips, “It’s fine.”

Looking rather insulted, Butch whined, “I’m your brother, forfuckssake, way to have faith in me.” Brick just looked levelly over Blossom’s head and Butch shrugged, “anyways she started it.”

“I did,” he jumped, not even realizing that Bubbles had appeared at his side with a chilly can in one hand. He relaxed when she grinned at him, but he could feel himself beginning to glow red. Why was she so cute? “So did you and Buttercup work everything out?” Bubbles addressed Blossom causally, as if her sisters hadn’t caught her 15 minutes ago making out with the green Ruff.

Flushing, Blossom and Brick both exchanged glances and she nervously tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. “Buttercup won’t be in our room tomorrow night, but only tomorrow!” She said this louder, most likely for Buttercup’s ears to pick up from the kitchen.

Boomer leaned out the door and gave Butch a thumbs up, “nice, dude.” Quickly he shifted down as a still drunk Robin jumped onto his back and flashed a wide grin, her eyes were bright as she pulled a small wad of cash out of her pocket.

“Breakfast is on me, bitches!”

Boomer shrugged, “she won, fair and square.” But Princess came over and elbowed Boomer before going up on tiptoe to kiss Robin’s pert nose.

“You’re not even going to be awake for breakfast, babe.” She laughed when Robin scowled at her girlfriend, but she slipped off Boomer’s back and draped her arms around Princess.

“You don’t know that,” she pouted.

Princess laughed again, “yes, I do.” Beginning to steer the brunette back into the kitchen she could be heard saying, “you need more water, babe.” It was almost like a Twilight Zone episode seeing Princess being a caretaker but it was also sweet too.

“Uh, excuse me,” Mitch leaned out of the kitchen door, “but let’s get back to the game!”

“Ooo, what are you playing?” Bubbles chirped as both her hands awkwardly clapped together around the can.

“Kings,” Mitch stated, “you’ll have to jump in next round though.” Bubbles nodded at him and Mitch pointed a finger at Brick, “get back into position, dude, I didn’t forget my rule.”

Brick heavily sighed and turned to Blossom, “you better pull the next king card so I can stop, this is getting old.”

“Nah, nah,” Mitch quickly went to correct, “we’re stacking rules this round!” He cackled before heading back inside with Boomer laughing and heading back in.

A little extra alone time wasn’t a bad thing, and Bubbles and Butch gave each other a very significant look which Brick quickly interrupted, “you two, stay on this patio, I mean it.” He pointed a finger at each of them while they tried to suppress their smiles. It was clear they failed, but Blossom began pushing Brick back into the house.

“We should be wrapped up in 20, then you _better_ join us,” she stated.

“We will!” Bubbles called out after her, and as soon as the door was shut she turned towards Butch and took his hand. With a short laugh and a bite to her lower lip as she grinned at him she began pulling him over to the railing, “now where were we…” feeling his own grin moving across his lips, Butch pulled the can out of her hand and plopped it down on one of the outdoor tables before picking her up to seat her on the top rail.

She was backed by stars, not as obvious as they had been when they had been out on the water but Butch swore that they made her eyes glow brighter as she looked at him and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. Her head craned and Butch breathed, “I know exactly where we left off,” and with one hand cupping her face he closed the gap between them.


End file.
